Teddy Bears and Tears
by Sweet June Rain
Summary: A father's job is to protect his child from any danger, but what happens when he fails? A wife's job is to love her husband but what happens when she can't any longer. Two people from different worlds come together, due to events in their lives. Can they find it in their hearts to move on, can they protect the most vulnerable from the looming threat? Babe! Serious Topic Warning!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: NEW STORY TIME! I haven't been on here in months! Well...what had happen was, my old laptop's hard drive was fried, had to wait to get a new one and when I went to get the data from my old laptop, found out it was all corrupted. Apart from two stories, I have jack, which is a little frustrating. I'll be doing some spring cleaning soon, but to make up for the fact that I haven't posted anything in a while, here is a new story. Enjoy!

WARNING: I cannot tell you enough, this story is going to be rough, mentions of child abuse, rape, etc and then some, only mentions. Of course there's going to be Super Protective of his child Carlos! and super protective Merry Men! I'll post the warnings in each chapter, should the need arrive.

Oh hey, mega unbetaed! Just letting you know that.

Disclaimer: The Character's are not mine, of course, they belong to Janet, so I'm making diddly squat on this, if they were mine, things would a whole lot different!

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 1_

 _Papi Comes Home_

* * *

Driving up the concrete driveway to his two story house was always Carlos Manoso's favorite thing to do. After a rough mission, or a bad meeting, it was nice to drive home to his family and forget about every issue that's on his plate. This past mission was rough, he had been off the grid for the past 8 months, on a hellish mission. He left his family and life behind on an almost suicidal mission. The moment he got back from the mission and was debriefed, he rented a car and made his way home. He would deal with life later on, for now, he wanted his family.

'Odd,' Carlos thought as he pulled into the garage, 'His wife's car was not in the garage, it's 3 in the morning, where could she be?'

That wasn't the only odd thing either, the house was dark, too dark, it was as though no one was living there. Carlos turned the car off, took out his bag and then walked over to the door that led into the mudroom of the house, unlocking the door and taking a step back in shock. It wasn't the view of the inside of the house, it was the smell. It was the smell of rotting food and the like all combined into one. It had Carlos on edge.

Carlos walked into the mudroom and turned on the lights, his eyes taking in the sight. Trash stacked high to ceiling went through the hallway that connected the mudroom to the living area of the house. Carlos walked into the kitchen and found that the kitchen was as bad as the mudroom. Dirty dishes were stacked on the counter, rotting food sat on the plates, trash was on the floor and other surfaces, it had Carlos reeling. Carlos felt a cold sweat break out, where was his wife and his child?! What happened here?! Carlos turned on the living room lights, walked past the mountain of trash and over to the side table, where a stack of mail stood, leaning dangerously to the side on the table. Carlos picked up a white envelope with the name of the school his child went to. Carlos opened the letter quickly and scanned over the letter.

'Sad to see your child go….was lovely and well behaved…good luck on homeschooling…..'

Carlos looked at the date on the letter and found that it had been dated a week after he left for his mission. Carlos placed the letter down and then made his way up the stairs. The master bedroom was empty, all his wife's clothes were gone anything she had, was missing. Carlos left the big bedroom and made his way down the hallway and stopped in front of a light blue door that had birds painted on it. Carlos tried to open the door, but found it locked. He looked down and found that not only had the doorknob had been changed to a lock that required a key, but there was a deadbolt lock was on it as well. Carlos frowned and then took out his picklock and unlocked the door with ease, before opening the door and entering the room. Unlike the rest of the house, the blue colored room was clean, and everything was in order. Carlos nearly sagged in relief at the sight of a tiny bundle lying on the white bed that resided in a corner of the room, the tiny bundle softly moving, which meant the bundle was alive and sleeping. Carlos walked over to the bundle of the bed and said, with a soft voice, "Bella, sweetie, it's me, Papi."

A low, pained whine filled the room and Carlos gently pulled down the blanket to reveal a small girl, lying on the bed, asleep, but was waking up quickly. Carlos turned on the side lamp saying, "Bella, wake up, it's Papi, I'm home, Bella can you tell me-"

Carlos paused, once his eyes were trained on his child's frame. Carlos felt weak at the sight before him. His child, who was no older than 5, lay in the bed, covered in a green nightgown and any exposed skin was covered in bruises and marks. Carlos gently turned his daughter on the bed and let out a sound, seeing her small face covered in bruises and mark, she had a split lip and both her eyes were blacken. Who did this to her, who hurt his child?!

"Heidi," Carlos whispered, gently shaking the girl's head, "Bella, Heidi, you need to wake up. Wake up, please."

The child stirred and opened her eyes, which were unfocused and trying to focus again. When amber eyes focused on Carlos, the girl let out a sound and whispered, "Papi…you're home…but, Papi, you're dead."

"I'm not dead, Heidi," Carlos said, running his hand over Heidi's hair, "No, I'm back from my mission, I went away for a long time, remember that's my job, right Bella."

"Mommy and Uncle Quinten told me that you died, a long time ago, Papi," Heidi whispered, looking up at her father, "You're dead…so that means I'm dead too…"

"No, I'm alive, I'm very much alive and right here, Bella," Carlos said, pulling Heidi into a hug, but pulled away when the girl let out a sound of pain, "Bella, your arm, it's broken, who did this?"

"Uncle Quinten got mad at me, because I wasn't a good girl," Heidi whispered, looking down, "I was mean to his friends."

"You don't have to say anything, Bella," Carlos said, gently lifting Heidi up from the bed, "It's alright, I'm here, you don't have to stay locked in this room."

Carlos gently kissed his child's forehead and then carried her out of the house, a house he would never step foot in, nor would he let Heidi step foot in, 8 months of hell for her, she would never feel this pain again. Carlos placed her in the back of the car and then climbed in, heading off to Rangeman Miami, the security company that he had set up a few years ago. He would go from there, healing his daughter and then inquiring about his wife and why his daughter looked the way she did.

There would be hell to pay.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"My child has a what?!" Carlos asked, rage filling his body, "Brown, what did she say?!"

Carlos felt a strong hand on his shoulder and then he was pushed down on the couch that resided in the waiting area of the Miami Hospital for Children. Serious brown eyes looked down at him and Bobby Brown, Carlos's friend and doctor said, in a no nonsense voice, "Listen to her, Ranger, and don't do anything rash."

Carlos felt a tick in his jaw, before he turned to the doctor in front of him, a stern looking woman, with jet black hair and hawkish brown eyes. She gave Carlos a serious look and said, "Heidi has a multitude of old wounds, ranging from crudely healed bone fractures to burns. She shows severe signs of sexual abuse, there is scar tissue around her genitalia and rectum. And, like I said before, Mr. Manoso, she has a few STIs, pelvic inflammatory disease, chlamydia and syphilis. They are at the threshold of being in the advance stages, Mr. Manoso, if you hadn't brought her in, when you did, she would be facing a multitude of health problems. As it stands now, she has enough problems as it is. I reported her injuries to the proper authorities, there will be an open investigation into this."

"I hope you're not blaming me for this," Carlos growled, trying to stand up, "I would never harm my child in any way."

Bobby turned to the doctor and said, "Dr. Christine, Mr. Manoso has been gone for eight months, he works for the military, I assure you, he did not do this to his daughter, If need be, I will send the proper paperwork to the proper channels."

"I wasn't blaming Mr. Manoso here," Dr. Christine said, looking at the men, "The first thing Heidi told me, when she was awake was that her father didn't do this but she wouldn't tell me who."

"I think I know who," Carlos whispered, closing his eyes , "But why, is the question."

Bobby rested a hand on Carlos's shoulder before turning to the doctor again and asking, "What are the health problems Heidi has?"

"Extensive damage to her reproductive organs, she is going to have problems, when she reaches the age of menses, incontinence, the scar tissue along her rectum is going to make it hard for her to go to the bathroom, surgery will have to be done to make it easier for her, for now, she'll be in diapers. Heidi is going to have severe behavioral problems and learning problems, one of the STIs reached her brain and caused minor damage. She's going to have to have bones broken so they can be properly set and she's going to have to stay in bed for two to three months. We have her on potent anti-biotics and painkillers, she'll stay here for a week and then afterwards, she can go home to you, I recommend hiring a nurse, for the time being, because she's going to need 24/7 care."

Carlos nodded his head, looking at the floor. He heard Bobby say something to Dr. Chrsitine and then she was gone. Bobby sat down beside Carlos and said, "I'm hiring one of the best nurses in Miami, she'll make sure that-"

"We're not staying in Miami," Carlos said, looking up from the floor, "No, we'll go somewhere else, maybe Rangeman Boston, or Atlanta, I won't let her stay here and relive all that she went through."

"Tank's heading Rangeman Trenton, you could go there," Bobby said, "The core team's up there as well, and Ella would love Heidi too and it'll be far from Miami."

Carlos thought about it for a second and had to agree with Bobby, Rangeman Trenton would be good for both Heidi and him. They would turn over a new leaf, Carlos would stop taking missions and focus on raising and healing his child.

"Also, there is a wonderful child psychiatrist in that area, he'll do wonders for Heidi, I'll get his information for you."

Carlos nodded his head and then said, "I have Santos investigating Rangeman Miami, I want to know how this went unnoticed and where my wife is."

"I can't believe this shit," Bobby said, looking over to Carlos, "For 8 months, your child and wife go off the grid and no one blinks an eye, something fishy is going on here."

"Get a crew to take care of the house, we're not stepping foot in it again, I'll settle in the beach house," Carlos said, getting up from his seat and making his way to Heidi's hospital room, "If that woman shows up, which I doubt she will, find me first."

Carlos sat down in the sleeper chair the resided beside Heidi's hospital bed and took a good, long look at his child. Carlos gently ran a hand over Heidi's head, whispering softly to the girl. This would be good for Heidi, good for Heidi and good for him as well. He would do anything for Heidi, even kill.

And when it comes down to it, it looks like he might have to.

TBC….

* * *

So how was that for a beginning, I will update this one regularly, maybe once or twice a week, depending on my free time. Please leave a review, they're my crack!


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot to put don that this as AU, OOC and that there would be OCs, but my regulars already know that I don't write canon, right?! Any ways, wow, thanks for the reviews and new followers! I know chapter 1 is...deep, but it's needed. Anyways, here is chapter 2 enjoy!

Warnings: None, just some sadness

Disclaimer in chapter 1

Enjoy!

Oh! Unbetaed!

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 2_

 _The Message_

* * *

"Honestly, it's been three years, Stephanie, I think it's time for you to go out and look for a new husband."

"I don't want to go out and find a new husband, mother," Stephanie said, in a low voice, not looking up from her meal, "Can we not talk about this?"

"Stephanie, you're 31 and you're not getting any younger," Helen Plum said, looking over to her youngest daughter, "It's time for you to settle down, get married and have a child, I'll have you know that young man down the road…."

Stephanie ignored her mother in lieu of poking at her congealed meal. What appetite she had before she got to her parents' house was now gone. She wanted to go back home and go to sleep. Stephanie pushed her plate away and stuck her hand into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around her phone. She could feel her throat closing up and her eyes welled with tears. Stephanie just wanted to-

"Pumpkin," Stephanie let out a soft hiccup sob, looking up and over to her father, who, this whole time, hadn't touched his meal but was looking at her. He gave her a head nod and said, in a low voice, "Come with me."

Stephanie looked over to her mother, seeing her in a heated argument with her Grandma Mazur. Grandma Mazur looked livid and she said, in a serious voice, "Helen, you don't understand what Stephanie's going through, she can't just move on like that! If she needs three years, then give her three years, if she needs more, then she needs more! You can't demand that she move on just like that!"

"Honestly, Mother," Helen said, after she took a long gulp of wine "She's 31, if she keeps on like this, she'll be an old maid soon, no children to speak to of and no husband."

Stephanie closed her eyes and got up from the table, her mother oblivious to her leaving with her father. Frank led her into the garage of the house, silent but it was a silence that Stephanie welcomed. Frank Plum was not a man of words, he used body language to get his point across and right now, Stephanie didn't want words, she wanted a solid presence, like the one her father was giving her right now.

Frank opened a cabinet and pulled out an ornate bottle and two shot glasses. He placed the items down on his workbench, looking over to Stephanie. Stephanie walked over to the workbench, looked down at the large bottle and said, in a soft voice, "I remember when he gave you this, five years ago, our first anniversary. He told me that he searched high and low in Peru for something as nice as this, but I think he was lying, and ordered it offline. It didn't help that I saw the purchase on our bank statement. He really wanted to impress you, I told him that he really didn't need to, you had already given him your blessing to marry me."

"He was a great man, Pumpkin," Frank said, opening the bottle of alcohol and pouring Stephanie a shot, "I know I didn't tell him or you often but, he was a good man, a wonderful man, in fact, he took care of you, supported you when you went back to school for a teaching degree. He did a lot better than Valarie's first husband. He treated you with respect and that's all I wanted my girls to know; to be in a healthy relationship with someone who treats you right. To know that, when it comes to relationships, that you were equal partners."

Stephanie looked down at her shot, lifted it up and drank it in one go, before saying, in a soft voice, "I miss him so much, why did he have to die?"

Frank wrapped his arms around his daughter's shoulders, whispering, "I don't know, Pumpkin, I just don't know."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

 _"Stephanie! I noticed you didn't go grocery shopping, so…I went and got some for you! Don't worry, you can pay me later, but I am a starving law student…hint hint. I'm just joking, Mommy put some money in my account, and I live with you so, you don't have to, but that would be nice, if you did... I know today is a rough day for you, I can't believe that it's been three years since his death, I wish he was still around, I could use my brother's advice right now, but…Oh well, Mommy wants you to know that they're doing something in a few days…to you know…you're invited to join us, we want you to join us. Please, Stephanie, don't shut us out, let us be there for you…"_

Stephanie sat down in the worn loveseat that resided in her late husband's office. She replayed the message over and over again, before deleting it. She made a mental note to thank her sister in law for stocking up her house and for cleaning it as well. During this time of the year, she couldn't be pressed to clean anything.

Stephanie ran her fingers over the worn fabric of the chair she sat in. The office she resided in was part of a three story cape cod style house, a house she and her late husband had formed into a home. Items from their past travels abroad were neatly on display, along with pictures of her family in law and her family. 3 wonderful years of marriage but then-

Stephanie pulled out her phone and dialed her voicemail. She placed the phone to her and played the message she played only once a year.

 _"Stephanie! Bolivia is wonderful, I wish you could be here, but I think the department has gotten wise on the lack of work that gets done when you go with me. It's alright, I promise you, after this expedition, we are going on a work free trip, two weeks in Fiji! Sand and you in a sexy two piece playing in the waves. Can you believe it, Stephanie, an unknown civilization, found by me, Princeton is going to be in the books for this one, They might even give me a new office, which means we'll have to break in that desk. I know I've been gone for a week, but next week, I'll be home, promise. Tell my sister not to drive you too crazy, We shouldn't have been nice to her and let her stay at our house while she goes to law school. Is she bringing home any boys, tell her if she does, I'm kicking their asses. Now, I've done my brotherly duties for the month, now back to those husband duties. I promise, I'm going to give you a kiss for every day I've been gone. 14 kisses, all over that body of yours, I can't wait to hold you in my arms again, Stephanie, I miss you so much, I love you so much. I know you've been having long days, with you going back to school to become a teacher, soon you'll have your MBA and then you'll be certified to teach at any school. Speaking of schools, have babies been on your brain, they have for me and, as Head Archaeologist at Princeton University, I need to spread my love of history to my children. Heaven knows, my sister isn't going to follow in my steps. The look on your face right now would be worth the ass kicking I receive from you, if I had said this beside you. We'll take our time, don't worry, I'm not like your mother. Anyways, I have to go, the workers have been complaining about a strange odor coming from the work site. It sounds like nothing but, as head of the excavation site, I have to go check it out, I love you, Stephanie, see you soon."_

Stephanie hung up the phone and tucked her legs under her chin. She closed her eyes, breathing harshly, trying to stop the tears. When she found that she couldn't stop them, she began to sob softly, gripping her knees and rocking slightly. She wanted her husband back so badly, she didn't want to be alone.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Here, eat this," A soft voice said to Stephanie, causing her to look up from her paperwork, "You haven't eaten anything today, it's not good for your body."

"Thanks, Mom," Stephanie said, sticking her tongue out at the person in front of her, "So, Brittany, how's the internship coming along."

Brittany, the person who placed a plate of sandwiches in front of Stephanie, smiled and said, sitting down, "Good, I was chosen to work on a high profile case with the head attorney. It's fun, being able to work on cases, it could be worse, I could just be a filer."

Stephanie picked up her sandwich and chewed slowly, looking over to Brittany. Brittany was her late husband's only sibling. She was 24 and a second year law student in the Princeton Law department. She was a short thing, with short curly black hair that was always pulled back with a headband, and bright brown eyes that could melt a person's heart. She lived with Stephanie and Stephanie told her, on no grounds was she to move out of the house, just because her husband died. She loved her company, she loved her personality, Stephanie wished that Brittany was her biological sister but sister in law came in pretty close too.

Brittany let out a hum and pulled her meal to her, saying, "So…are you going to go to the family thing? It's been a while since you've seen Mommy and Daddy, they miss you, you know."

"I don't know, Brittany," Stephanie sighed, looking back at her paperwork, "I have a job interview coming up and other obligations, I know it sounds like I'm dodging them, but-but I'm"

"I know, you're not ready, it's cool," Brittany said, biting into her sandwich, "They'll be there, when you are ready, okay?"

"Thanks," Stephanie said, with a smile, before going back to her sandwich.

"So what's this about a new Job?" Brittany asked, sitting up in her seat, "This is news to me!"

"I got offered a job interview to be a teacher at some private school," Stephanie said, shrugging her shoulders, "I would be a kindergarten teacher, but the pay is great and the classroom size would be very small, maybe 3 or 4 students, here, the person who talked to me, sent me some information."

Stephanie took out her phone and pulled up the information, before passing it to Brittany, who took it and read silently.

"Oh…I know him, he teaches a seminar on Clinical Child Psychology at the school," Brittany said, looking up from the phone, "He's very famous and very nice, the school he runs is very special, Stephanie, I hope you get the job, it might do you some good."

"He seemed very interested in me," Stephanie said, finishing her meal, "He sought me out, and it was really hard to find me too, since-"

Brittany nodded her head and said, "Yeah…but he sought you out, that's a good thing, he wants you, you're going to get this job, Stephanie and put that brand new degree to good use!"

"It would be nice to get out of the house," Stephanie said, earning a nod from Brittany, "Maybe this is sign, a sign for me to turn a new page in my book."

"I'll be with you, every step of the way!" Brittany chirped before looking at her watch and squeaking in horror, "But not now, I have to go to work at the office, I'll be back later!"

Brittany jumped up from her seat and tore off to go up the stairs. Stephanie sat back in her seat and smiled, looking over to a small picture frame near the window, "Some things never change, do they?"

* * *

Stephanie is now in the picture, see I'm building up to things, mkay! Please, leave a review, they're like crack to me!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three, enjoy!

Warning: general angst, sorry guys!

Disclaimer in chapter 3

Unbetaed!2

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 3_

 _Step One_

* * *

Carlos hated it when Heidi was silent. He would rather her be loud and destructive than quiet. When she was silent, she was lost in her thoughts, thoughts that treaded on the dangerous side, thoughts that no five year old child should have. His child, he Bella, had gone through hell and back for span of eight months. Carlos understood, he understood well that no one could be cure of such pain in weeks. No, Heidi would be in pain for years to come, and it was his fault, he should have never took that mission, if he hadn't then his Heidi would have been spared this pain.

Carlos watched, helplessly as Heidi knocked her plate of pasta away from her and onto the ground beside her bed. She hadn't looked up from her bed sheets and she hadn't uttered a word in two months. Carlos ran a hand through his hair, a rare sign of his frayed nerves and said, "Bella, please, you need to eat, come on, eat for Papi…please."

Heidi didn't look up from the bed, her eyes half closed and her breathing shallow. The temporary psychiatrist that the children's hospital had recommended to Carlos told him that this would happen, this closing off from the world. Heidi was five and at the age of four experienced something that most adults wouldn't survive. During the time she had experienced the abuse she had to form coping mechanisms to survive, but now that she was free from that abuse, the coping mechanisms she had formed are not able to handle the new stimuli.

"Do you want candy, cake, anything Heidi?" Carlos asked, sitting down beside Heidi's bed, "Please, tell Papi what he can do."

When Heidi didn't say anything, Carlos got up and made his way out her room. Carlos walked through the hallway and into the main room of the beach house they were settled in. Carlos sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, his body sagging. He looked over to the pile of drawings that Heidi had drawn up during a therapy session and picked a few of them up.

Pictures of giant lumps, all colored a dark red and mean faces were srrounding a blue lump with a sad face. Carlos shuffled through the drawings, some of them covered entirely with dark scribbles, others with red scribbles. The only constant was the blue lump with the sad face. The little blue lump must have been Heidi, during her hellish experience. Carlos closed his eyes and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Though she wouldn't speak during the sessions, she would spend hours drawing. She hadn't said a word since she had been admitted into the hospital and then released. The psychiatrist told him that this would be the norm for a while, depending on how safe Heidi felt. All Heidi did was draw and look out the window. He wanted her to show some emotions, he wanted to see something from his child, but this silence, it was killing him.

"Mr. Manoso," Carlos looked up to see Heidi's live-in nurse, Frankie Hudson, standing before him, looking down at him with concern, "Are you okay, Mr. Manoso? Is Heidi talking?"

"No," Carlos said, rubbing his eyes and looking over to the older woman, "She's not talking, she's not eating, she's wasting away, right in front of me, and I don't know what to."

"Well, I'll be putting a feeding tube in Heidi, I'll have to sedate her, she's going to kick up a fuss," Frankie said, looking down the hall, "She needs to eat, and force feeding her nutrient shakes isn't helping, the feeding tube will assure that she gets the needed calories and she doesn't need to open her mouth for it."

Frankie then walked over to Carlos, placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "And you, on nurse's orders, go take a nap, you need to rest, these all night vigilantes at your daughter's bedside isn't helping you. Mr. Santos will be here in two hours, in that time, I want you sleeping, I will make you a meal afterwards."

Carlos wanted to argue with Frankie, but the look she gave him had him getting up and walking into his room and going to sleep. He must have been more tired than he thought he was because the moment he laid hi head on the pillow he was out and when he woke up, it was the end of the day. He couldn't believe that he slept for a solid four or five hours. Carlos sat up in the bed, stretching and went still, hearing Lester's voice coming from the living room. Carlos got up from the bed and made his way out into the living room, where Lester, Bobby and Alejandro sat on the couches, talking in soft voices.

"You know how that woman is, Santos, if she doesn't want to be found, she isn't going to be found," Alejandro said in a low voice, "We're dealing with a dangerous woman."

"Well, what about this Quentin character?" Lester asked, leaning forward, "I've been asking around, and no one on the streets know about him."

"He could be a ghost," Carlos said, making the three men turn to look at him, "My…wife, she knew ghosts, people who don't exist in any databases, it's going to be tough, she's a ghost, we're all ghosts."

Carlos turned to Alejandro and said, "Alejandro, what's the word in Rangeman Miami?"

Alejandro was Carlos's brother, he ran Rangeman Miami and was a no nonsense leader. It's because of Alejandro's leadership that Rangeman Miami is one of Carlos's most successful companies. When Alejandro found out what happened to Heidi, he personally interviewed each and every one of his people working for Rangeman.

"I found out that your wife managed to manipulate one of the newbies, almost 10 months ago, before you even went out for your mission," Alejandro said, looking over to Carlos and standing up, "Dwight Jones, 24, Navy Seals, he was in the IT department. Sang like a canary after a few minutes, your wife got him to not only remove any Rangeman equipment from the house but he also stopped daily patrols of the property. Your house became the prime hotspot for criminal activity."

"Also there is the fact that Carly managed to prevent any people in the community from reporting on any suspicious activity," Lester said crossing his arms, "Ranger, Dwight told us some disturbing news, apparently, on average there were five to ten men at your house on any given day, almost on a daily basis."

Carlos felt his world tilting, he looked over to Alejandro and Lester, asking, "Did he…did…how many?"

Lester gave Alejandro a look before turning to Carlos saying, "Hey, Carlos…we really-"

 _"How many men, how many child predators had their sick way with my child?!"_ Carlos snarled, rounding on Alejandro and Lester, " _Who forced themselves on Heidi?"_

"Dwight was completely under the spell of Carly," Alejandro said softly, pulling out a folder, "She had him keep tabs of those who went to the house, I think he was being paid to take care of Heidi."

Carlos, grabbed the folder and opened it, looking down at the figures. He looked up at the three men and said, in a low voice, "There are so many men on this paper….over….Dios….."

Carlos felt a firm hand on his shoulder and then he was in a chair, looking down at the papers in the folder. His child, suffered so much from these vile beasts. Names jumped out on this list that he knew, because him and his men put them way behind bars. So many different men had…It was his fault, he left Heidi, he left her to this hell, she suffered because of him.

"Mr. Manoso, you are hyperventilating," Frankie's voice cut through his thoughts, "Put your head between your legs and breathe deeply."

Carlos did what he was told, it felt as if wind was rushing through his ears. He failed his child, he was supposed to be her protector, her rock, but he hadn't been her rock when she needed him the most, oh god, he failed Heidi, he was an awful parent.

"It's alright, Mr. Manoso, it'll be alright," Frankie soothed, rubbing Carlos's back, looking over to the men, "Don't worry, Mr. Manoso, don't worry."

With Carlos calm, Frankie went over to the men and said, "I need to speak to you two in private, come along."

Frankie led the men into the kitchen, shutting the door behind them. She rounded on the two men and said, in a soft voice, "Mr. Manoso is in a delicate state right now, and showing him that list did not help at all. I understand, you did not mean to set him off like that, but you two need to be careful with what you say and do around him. He needs to be in top form to help that poor child in the other bedroom. I need to make a call to someone, can you please tell Mr. Brown to come here? Go stay with Mr. Manoso."

Frankie went about the kitchen, fixing a meal for Carlos, just as Bobby came into the kitchen. The live-in nurse turned to Bobby and said, "You told me, when I arrived at this job, that you knew of a psychiatrist, correct?"

"Yes, but I was going to give Carlos the information, when Heidi was strong enough to travel to New Jersey," Bobby said, frowning, "They have a psychiatrist here now, correct?"

"Correct, but I think they need a better one, please give me the information for the one you want Heidi to go to, I think it would be good for Heidi to form a bond with the doctor she'll go to in New Jersey now."

Bobby nodded his head and then gave the nurse the information. Frankie used the house phone to call the psychiatrist. They spoke for a few moments before Frankie said, "Thank you, I'll be sure that someone is there to get you from the airport, I will see you tomorrow evening."

Frankie hung up the phone and said, turning to Bobby, "Mr. Brown, Dr. Ivan Vladimir will be flying into Miami International at 5:45 tomorrow evening, please make sure that he is picked up accordingly. He will be staying here, until the Manosos leave with him to New Jersey."

Bobby smiled at the older woman and said, "You're a force to reckon with, I'm glad you accepted the job."

Franke nodded her head and said, "Though I may have been hired to look after the child, I'll look after Mr. Manoso as well, you've seen the way the man had been acting, correct?" At Bobby's nod, Frankie sighed and continued on, "I think Dr. Ivan will be good for not only the child, but for Mr. Manoso as well."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~)

After reading the contents of the folders, it felt as though Carlos went into auto pilot, eat was given to him, listen to Frankie as she told him to take a shower and to go bed. Wake up early, do some body and mind numbing workouts, shower, sit in Heidi's room and hope and pray she would talk to him. Pray that she would say something, yell at him, scream at him, anything. For hours, Carlos and Heidi would sit in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. Frankie told Carlos that Heidi did not go to bed last night, and so, mid morning, she slipped the child a mild sedative to make her go to sleep. She also had him talk to the children's psychiatrist to okay them to release Heidi's information to another doctor for a second opinion. He gave the green light and then spent the rest of the day beside Heidi, watching her fade away slowly. As he sat beside her, his thoughts chewed through his mind. He had let this happen, he let his daughter suffer like this, he married that woman, and he had a child with her. He left Heidi with her, he was so stupid, so blind with love. He should have left Heidi with anyone but Carly, Carly, the woman who stole his heart, Carly who managed to bed and wed him in the span of three weeks, Carly, who could sweet talk her way out of a murder charge.

He was such a fool. Heidi didn't deserve a father like him.

Carlos hunched over in the chair and rubbed his face, he felt so useless, this was all his fault, everything was his fault, maybe if he fell off the face of the planet, everything would be better.

"Internally beating yourself up is not going to help your daughter, Mr. Manso," A voice said, in the doorway of Heidi's room, "Nor is it helping yourself."

Carlos looked up from his thoughts and turned to see a tall man in the doorway. He was white, with short trimmed blond hair, soft blue eyes and a pleasant looking face. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a ruffled dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. He crossed his arms and gave Carlos a look, tilting his head. Carlos gave the man another once over and said, "Now my nurse is letting in strangers, wonderful."

"I'm not a stranger, if that helps," The man said, uncrossing his arms and smiling pleasantly, "My name is Ivan Vladimir, the Clinical Child Psychologist that answered your nurse's pleas for help."

Ivan walked over to Carlos and hummed, looking over to Heidi and then to Carlos, his eyes soft, "Most doctors cannot relate to the horrors that a patient goes through, I myself am one of those doctors. But I do understand the concept of guilt and the dangers of it."

Carlos hummed and then looked over to Heidi, who still sitting up, propped up by pillows, looking down at her clasped hands. He felt Ivan place a hand on his shoulder and say, "It's a nice evening, Mr. Manoso, how about we go outside to the patio and we enjoy this weather."

"Good idea," Frankie said, walking into the bedroom, "I have to give Heidi a bath and change her diaper, some fresh air would be good for you, Mr. Manoso."

Knowing that he had little choice in the matter, Carlos got up from the chair and followed Ivan out of the room. Frankie closed the door and sighed, before turning to the child in the bed, "I hope Dr. Ivan can help your father, child, because if we're to heal you, he needs to be healed first."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Ivan led Carlos outside on the wooden patio of the beach house, leading him to the outdoor dining table. On the table was a stack of construction paper, crayons, color pencils, markers and other items for crafting. Ivan motioned for Carlos to sit down and said, sitting beside the man, "I want you to draw what's on your mind, I'm sure you've seen Heidi's last psychiatrist request her to color her thoughts and feelings, now, I want you to do the same thing."

At Carlos's raised eyebrow, Ivan chuckled and said, "Trust me, Mr. Manoso, It's going to make you feel better."

Carlos let out a noise in the back of his throat, grabbed a blue color pencil and a piece of red construction paper and began to draw what was on his mind. Carlos seemed to get lost in the drawing activity, forming shapes and bodies, using different colors to fill them in and all the while, Ivan sat, looking at him in silence. What felt like minutes later, Carlos was putting down the colored pencil in his hand and looking up at Ivan.

"You've been drawing for a solid two hours, Mr. Manoso," Ivan said, earning a blank face from said man, "I know, when Heidi does it, it's only a few minutes, but the psychiatrist talks to her. I have a question, have you gone out and sought out help for you?"

"No…Heidi needs all the help," Carlos said, leaning back in his seat and rubbing his knuckles, "She spent almost two months in the hospital, and almost a year in captivity, she's the victim and the survivor here."

"And so are you, Mr. Manoso," Ivan said, looking out the window, "You and Heidi, were extremely close, before this happened, correct?" Ivan turned and saw Carlos nod his head, "Now that bond is shattered, almost to the point to where it can't be fixed, I'm going to help you, Mr. Manoso with that bond, I will help heal it for you but first, we have to heal you, two months and no one to talk to, it must have been rough, which is why you drew for two hours. I may be a Child Psychiatrist, but I do have a few adult patients, some who have been with me since their childhood. One more adult patient won't hurt me."

Carlos closed his eyes and said, "I don't need the help, I'm not broken."

"Denial is the first step in the process of getting fixed," Ivan chirped happily, getting up from the patio table, "Now, tomorrow morning, we're going to talk about this picture, and then I'll teach you how to project your good feelings onto Heidi. For now, you need rest, and relaxation."

Ivan placed a hand on Carlos's shoulder and said, "You don't have to shoulder the burden, Mr. Manoso, there's a strong support system around you that will help you and Heidi."

TBC….

* * *

Poor Carlos, beating himself up, : Next chapter is for Stephanie! Smell Ya Later and leave a review, please? I love them!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Enjoy

Warnings: None

Disclaimer in chapter 1

Have fun!

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 4_

 _New Jobs_

* * *

Stephanie opened the curtains to the windows and opened the windows with a sigh. She turned and looked around the classroom that was now hers. She couldn't believe that she got the job! She was now the kindergarten teacher at Princeton University Academy School. It wasn't your typical private or public school that one would expect. It was a one of a kind school created by Clinical Child Psychiatrist Dr. Ivan Vladimir.

The Princeton University Academy School, for one thing, was located half a mile away from Princeton University and was considered to be a satellite school of the Ivy league school. The second special thing about the school was that it was tiny, a small three brick building that was surrounded by a private park. It was secluded from the road and closed off by wrought iron gates. Stephanie's classroom was located on the first floor, with it's own private exit into a small playground and full bathroom. It wasn't like the classroom she spent time in, student teaching, it was unique. The walls were painted a soft blue, and there were plenty of windows to let in natural lights and the like. The classroom was large and opened, with a stout round table for the children to do school work at in the middle of the room. In one corner, toys lay, waiting for someone to play with them and in another corner were small couches and large fluffy pillows for the children to nap on.

Stephanie smiled and walked over to the corner in which her desk sat. She placed her box of personal items on the surface and then sat down, looking around. Of course, she would make a trip to the teacher supply store and get cute posters and put them up for the children, and maybe create an arts and craft area. There were so many different opportunities for her to do! She couldn't wait to do them all!

Stephanie unpacked her box and then sat down to write out her lesson plans. This year, she would have three students, two boys and a girl, all ranging from the age 5-7. Stephanie didn't even blink when she saw that one of her students was old enough to be a second grader, thanks to Dr. Ivan's talk after he hired her. She just hoped and prayed that she would be of help to these children.

Stephanie opened one of her drawers and paused, pulling out a DVD that had 'Watch Me,' written on it. Stephanie booted up her computer, slid the DVD into the drive and chuckled as Ivan's face popped up on the screen.

"Hello, Mrs. Ronald, congratulations on becoming our brand new kindergarten teacher!" Ivan said, smiling at the camera, "I would personally be there to congratulate you, but I had to go out of town for a bit, to help with a patient. Now, I told you the bare minimum about your job but now I'll tell you."

"Princeton Univerity Academy School is my baby, so to say," Ivan said, looking thoughtful, "I formed this little school for the purpose to help our most vulnerable; children who have faced things that no one should go through. These children have faced mental, physical and sexual abuse to an extreme. I wish I could help out every single child who have faced some degree of abuse, but I am only one man. These children have been hand picked by me to be enrolled in this school. This is unlike any other school in the nation.

The purpose of this school is to cater to the needs of these abused children. In a public or private school setting, these children are not given enough support to find a sense of normalcy, at this school, we strive to give it to them. At this school, there is always a medical team, doctors, nurses, the works. Sometimes there are medical students there doing their internships, sometimes there are other doctors from around the world. This school is an experiment and a successful one at that. This school is funded by several grants, private donors and Princeton University itself. There are talks about expanding the school, next year but that's a different story. For now, I need to tell you about your students."

"They are the most vulnerable, ages 5-7, their problems range from abuse and to mental illness that were aggregated from neglect or abuse. They're going to have severe emotional problems from separation anxiety, depression, violent outbursts to hypersexual tendencies. You will be trained, before school begins, to know how to deal with these outbursts, don't worry. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to the second in charge, she'll be happy to help with any problems you have, I have to go, take care!"

Stephanie turned the computer off and then looked around the large, airy classroom. She had her doubts, when she first heard about the duties she would take on as a teacher for children who were suffering. Now, however, those doubts were gone, she could do this, she could be the perfect teacher for these children and then some.

"Are you too lost in your thoughts for Indian?!" Brittany's voice chirped, making Stephanie look up and see the young woman in the doorway, holding a bag, "It's curried chicken and Tandoori!"

"I love you," Stephanie said, as Brittany walked over with the food, "I don't tell you that enough, why couldn't I have been your blood sister."

"Well…A, I'm the wrong skin tone and B, your mom would have shat kittens if she had to deal with the two of us," Brittany said, pulling out tins of food, "Now, Let's eat, while I look around the room, it's so nice…."

Stephanie was more than happy to fill herself up on curried chicken and flatbread, while Brittany looked around. She could hear the law student mumbling, but couldn't make out what she was saying. Stephanie knew that Brittany did that sometimes, getting lost in her thoughts. At first, it scared her, but her in-laws assured her that it was quite normal for Brittany to do that, to zone people out and to fall into her own world. Her husband told her that a while back, it had been worse than what it is now.

"Brittany, come sit down, your meal is getting cold, sweetie," Stephanie said to Brittany in a gentle voice, "You don't want to waste your Tandoori chicken, right?"

Brittany blinked and turned to Stephanie saying, "What?! Sorry, I was just looking outside, lots of memories, yes."

Brittany Sat down on Stephanie's desk and ate, while Stephanie told her about her lesson plans. She had originally gone back to graduate school so that she could teach college level classes or even high school level classes. Kindergarten classes were never thought about, and it kind of scared her. Kindergarten wasn't like the kindergarten of her time. She went to school played games, learned the basic like shapes, letters and numbers and had a blast. Now a days, Kindergarten was like 1st grade or 2nd grade, even, children had to learn, learn, learn, or else they would fall behind. Her lesson plans didn't echo that mentality, Dr. Ivan, during the interview, told her that the children in Kindergarten were there to feel safe and secured, learning could come last, but if she did it right, they would be learning along the way.

"You're going to be a good teacher," Brittany said, finishing off her lunch, "I can tell, onw, I have to buy you a potted plant, for your classroom, all teachers have potted plants, right?"

"I don't know, you know I can barely keep a fern alive," Stephanie said earning a snort from Brittany, 'Okay, fine, bring in a plant, and I'll show you!"

Brittany smiled and said, "I'll bring it in tomorrow, and it'll brighten up the place, now I'm off to work, I'll see you later, Stephanie, dinner is on you tonight!"

Brittany jumped off the desk, hugged Stephanie and then scurried out the classroom. Stephanie leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, with a puff of air. She could do this, she had to keep telling herself, she could not only educate these children, she could also help them.

TBC….

* * *

Short chapter, I know! But next chapter will be pretty long, smell ya later, and please leave a review...please? owo


	5. Chapter 5

I've managed to get away from the smut, here's chapter 5! Enjoy!

Warning: Mentions of child abuse, suicidal thoughts

Disclaimer in chapter 1

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 5_

 _More Than One_

* * *

Ivan leaned forward in his chair, looking at the child that lay in the bed beside him. He looked away from the child and then down at her records, looking at the extensive list of information in front of him. This child, Heidi, she had been through hell and back again. Apparently a week after her father left, and up to his return she had been the victim of human trafficking, forced sexual relations with several men whose ages range from 20 to 65.

Ivan cursed darkly in Russian, before he turned to Heidi, who remained still in her bed, looking out at nothingness. He closed the file and placed it on his lap, before bowing his head and closing his eyes. This…this took him back, a long time ago, back to his very first case, when he had been 24, young, cocky and full of shit.

Ivan lifted his head and placed his face in his hand, looking out at the beach from the window. He closed his eyes silently before he said, in a soft voice, "Heidi…Heidi…"

Ivan cleared his throat and then lifted his head, saying in a stronger voice, "Heidi, I am going to ask you a set of preliminary questions, just so I can get a feel for you, okay, sweetie?"

Ivan shifted and then asked, "How old are you, Heidi? Can you tell me?"

When he received silence, Ivan nodded his head and then began to fire off questions, knowing that he would not receive any word of acknowledgement from the girl. Ivan ran a hand through his hair, before asking the final question.

"Is your name Heidi?"

Ivan watched as Heidi's head turned to look at him, her eyes blinking. Ivan leaned back, as large amber eyes blinked again and then Heidi said, in a shaky voice, "My…my name isn't Heidi."

Interesting…..Ivan thought as the child began to shiver violently. Ivan sat up and said, "Sweetie, are you cold?"

"S-scared," Heidi shivered, "s-scared I'm sleeping and gonna wake up….and be back in the room."

Ivan got up and then slowly made his way over to the girl. He sat down on the bed and then said, in a soft voice, "Hey, it's not a dream, you are very much awake and the like, can you tell me your name?"

"…Sara," Heidi shivered, looking over to Ivan, "I'm not sleeping? It's all real, not gonna go back into that room again?"

"No Sara," Ivan said, as the girl looked up at him, "I'm not going to hurt you, no one here is going to make you do bad things, okay?"

"Thank you for telling that," Sara said, before she laid back in the bed, "I'm gonna go to sleep now, I can go to sleep now, no more nightmares."

"Okay," Ivan said, as 'Sara' closed her eyes, "Have pleasant dreams, sweetheart."

'Sara' stuck her thumb in her mouth as she fell asleep, the stress from her small body leaving her, causing it to sag under the blankets. Ivan stood up from the bed and left the room, not before grabbing Heidi's file and closing the door.

This was a new development, Ivan thought as he made his way into the living room, a new and unexpected development. This made a lot of sense though, but it would be a problem as well. Ivan knew that by experience.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Heidi is asleep, her session with me will be postponed until further notice," Ivan said to Carlos and Frankie, as he sat down at the kitchen table to eat, "It looked as though the child could use several hours of good sleep."

"She's sleeping, without the aid of medicine?" Frankie asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the man in front of her, "Dr. Ivan what have you done? Tell me your secrets."

"It's nothing," Ivan said, waving his hand and tucking into his meal, "Oh, she might be hungry after her rest, I think, after I've spoken with her, you can take the feeding tube out of her and let her eat solid foods again."

"So," Carlos started, leaning forward to look at Ivan, "Heidi, she's….cured?"

"Far from it, the child is extremely ill," Ivan said looking over to Carlos, "In fact, that girl in that bedroom isn't Heidi."

"What do you mean?" Frankie asked, sitting down, "Dr. Ivan, I think I know what you're talking but….you don't mean…"

"I do; Dissociative Identity Disorder," Ivan said, looking at the two people in front of him, "Not a common diagnoses for children, but, in a blue moon, it happens."

"That illness is a myth, Dr. Ivan," Frankie said firmly, "I read about it, I think it's false, D.I.D is a made up disease."

"I've seen it twice before Heidi, and they are confirmed cases!" Ivan said, crossing his arms on the table, "Once, as a resident medical student at a Russian institute, and the other time here in America at a state hospital, my first patient, to be exact."

"Can you tell me what in the hell Dissociative Identity Disorder is?!" Carlos asked, giving the doctor in front of him a cold look, "And why my nurse thinks you're lying."

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, is a rare illness, the past name for it used to be Multiple Personliaites," Ivan said, looking into his cup of coffee, "In a healthy person, there is only only personality, the shelf, it is able to comprehend all situations and thus follow them accordingly. In individuals with D.I.D., that is not the case, the true self cannot handle the extreme situations it is in and thus, form other personalities for certain situations. These personalities are formed due to extreme abuse, extreme events and any other things that can trigger the one personality to split apart into many."

"My child is insane?" Carlos asked, feeling the self-loathing fill him, "There's more than one person living in her?"

Ivan frowned and said, "Carlos, stop it, this internal battle that you're having with yourself is not going to help Heidi. Heidi is in a delicate situation, I'm afraid she won't be able to go to school, public or private, until she is able to manage her illness."

"That could take years," Frankie whispered, earning a nod from Ivan, "How many personalities do you think she has?"

"It's too soon to tell," Ivan said, closing his eyes, "I just met Sara in there, there might be just two, or possibly 20. I recall the first patient I ever had, they had 8 personalities, using the letters in their name to name them."

Ivan sipped his coffee and said, "Between you and me, D.I.D. in a child as young as Heidi is incredibly rare, the youngest person to have D.I.D. in the United States, before Heidi, was 15 years old. Children are able to easily cope with some extreme situations. The position that Heidi found herself, in those eight months, must have been extreme enough for her to form different identities."

Carlos nodded his head listlessly, listening to Ivan and Frankie discuss future treatment plans for Heidi. Even though the man told him not to beat himself up, Carlos couldn't help it. When he first got the news that Carly was pregnant with his child, the first thing he had done was to arrange for him to get missions that only required him to be gone for weeks, not months. He wanted to be close to Carly, he wanted to watch over the woman and to protect her. When she gave birth to Heidi, it was like everything clicked for the man. He was a father now, and all that mattered was Heidi and Carly. He was always there for Heidi, he made sure that she had her Papi around to watch her grow up.

Carlos paused his train of thoughts and blinked. Now that he noticed it, Carly was never emotional invested in Heidi. Carly was barely around the child as she grew up. She had been more worried about getting her figure back and looking good. After Heidi, Carly had gotten her tubes tied, telling Carlos that they would never have another child, getting pregnant had ruined Carly's body. Carlos had known that Carly was a piece of work, but….could she had really instigated all of this, did she give their daughter up to a strange man to do with her as he pleased?

"Carlos," Ivan said, frowning at the man, "I need to tell you something, Carlos, about Heidi and her identities, one or two of them might try to seduce you into bed."

"What?!" That revelation was news to Carlos. It had his stomach rolling, "Why would she….?"

"A past patient, with D.I.D. formed two personalities to deal with the sexual trauma. To protect their privacy, I won't name the personalities, but I will tell you that these personalities did not understand the concept of kindness and whenever a person gave it to them, they had expected the person who showed them affection to want something in return for it, sexual favors. Heidi, it seems likely, will do that as well. I am telling you in advance so that you know how to handle it."

"This is all my fault," Carlos croaked, burying his face in his hands, "It's all my fault, Heidi is injured and ill because of me, I tried to get out of the mission, but they wouldn't let me, I was supposed to protect her from danger, she's in this position because of me."

Ivan rubbed his chest and then said, in a rough voice, "Carlos, stop it, you need to listen to me, you cannot-"

"I let my child down, I let Heidi down, I'm a horrible parent," Carlos said, standing up suddenly, "She would be better if I wasn't in her life, right now."

If the red flags weren't flying in Ivan's mind, they were now. He knew trigger words, the words that people on the edge would say before going on with their plans. Carlos was one of those people, the guilt had eaten a deep hole in the man and everything was crashing down right now, at this moment.

"Fuck," the panic Ivan was feeling right now bubbled up and he went over to Carlos said, "Carlos, come with me, let's go for a walk, you are not thinking correctly."

"I am, I haven't thought so clearly before in my life," Carlos said, looking down at the table, "Heidi would be better off in someone else's hands, Alejandro is Godfather, he'll see to it that she gets the care she needs."

Ivan placed a hand on Carlos's shoulder and said, "Come walk with me, now….now Carlos!"

Ivan steered Carlos out of the kitchen and into the living room. He turned to Frankie and said, "Make some calls, we need to get this house safe."

Frankie nodded her head and then grabbed the house phone to make the calls. She called Alejandro and told him to bring help with getting the house safe. Frankie slowly sat down at the kitchen table and shook her head. She knew the man was hurting, but she hadn't known he was hurting this badly.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Walk with me," Ivan said to Carlos as they stepped in the sand, "Walk with me, talk to me, do not shut me out, let me in, let me help you."

"I've failed her," Carlos croaked, looking out at the ocean, "I've failed Heidi, I wasn't there for her, she's…so sick now, and I can't help her now."

"And you think committing suicide is going to help her?!" Ivan boomed, earning a look from Carlos, "No! It won't help that child in there! How in the world do you think she'll feel, knowing that first her mother abandoned her to eight months of hell and then her father, full of misplaced guilt and self hatred, kills himself! No, you are not taking the easy way out, Carlos, I am here to help you both, but I'm not going to lie, you need a kick in the ass. Heidi needs you more than ever, what happened to her, was not your fault, it was the fault of the men who did this to her and her mother…."

Carlos ran a hand over his face and groaned softly. Ivan grabbed the man by his shoulders and then led him back to the beach house and over to the closed garage. Ivan knew it was risky, but he left Carlos by the garage by himself for five minutes, before coming back with a laundry basket, filled to the brim with all the dishes from the kitchen. He gave Carlos a look and then said, "You've been depressed, full of self loathing and full of self hatred, I have yet to see you angry about this, you need to be angry, Carlos, you need to let it out, get mad! Get mad for yourself and get mad for Heidi!"

"Break them," Ivan said, giving Carlos a cup, "Break as many dishes as you want, now, many a doctor will tell you not to be angry, but, you have a right to be pissed, you are allowed to be pissed off, be pissed off at the world, at fate, I don't care who you need to be mad at, but you need to let out your rage, or else it might release itself in a way you're not prepared for."

Carlos looked down at the glass cup in his hand and said, "She was supposed to be there for our child, instead she threw her to the wolves…."

Ivan took a step back as Carlos smashed the cup against the wall of the garage. It shattered loudly against the wall, breaking into several hundred pieces. It was like a damn breaking for Carlos. It felt good to break something.

"All she thought about was herself!" Carlos said, smashing plates against the wall, "Not a damn ounce of interest in our child. She did this! She broke my Bella! She broke Heidi! She broke her…she broke Heidi, fuck, she broke my little mija…"

"It's alright to cry," Ivan's soothing voice said to Carlos, "It's okay, let it out, you can cry, men can cry…."

"She was only 4," Carlos said, falling to his knees, "She was just a baby, I used to go on missions, I use to see children like Heidi and thank the stars that my baby didn't have to suffer like that, that she didn't have to be put down, like a dog, because her little body hadn't been destroyed by the hands of sick men, she's never going to be the same ever again. These sick people, they've destroyed her."

Ivan placed an arm around Carlos as the man let out a sob and said, "She looked like one of those children, her eyes look so dead, why, why did they have to do this to Heidi."

"We're going to try to help her, Carlos, I promise, you," Ivan said in a low voice, "But we need to help you too, I know you've been to mandatory therapy sessions after some missions, I think you need more. We'll talk a couple times a week, about anything and everything. I'm going to prescribe you some anti-depressants. They're going to be a real mood killer, but they'll help you, no alcohol when you're on these."

Carlos nodded his head, wiping his tears with his shirt. He looked around at the mess on the ground and asked, "What are we going to eat dinner on now?"

"We'll think of something," Ivan said, with a chuckle, looking into the basket, "You smashed every dish, do you feel better?"

"Yeah, I do, actually," Carlos confessed, looking over to Ivan, "I might have to do this again…"

"Yeah," Ivan said, getting up and then walking over to the opened garage and getting out a broom, "Hey, I'll clean up, you go inside and relax, don't worry."

Ivan and Carlos turned as a black SUV came rolling into the driveway. Lester jumped out the car, his face looking tight. He walked over to Carlos and said, "You know how Dwight told us he only fed Heidi…well, you need to see something, Carlos."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

 _"Come on, Heidi, you're a good puppy, right? And good puppies do what they're told to do…if you make this soft, I'll give you some chocolate…."_

"Dwight," Alejandro said, in a soft voice, looking at the man in one of Rangeman's holding cells, "Dwight, you lied to us, you told me, swore to me, that you never harmed my niece, that you never touched a single hair on her body."

"This video, buddy, tells us otherwise," Lester said, walking up to the cell, "So, you sick fuck, did you enjoy it, a defenseless 4 year old, ready for the taking."

Dwight licked his lips, a sign of nervousness, and said, "I didn't enjoy it! I…I was forced to do it! He threatened me! If I didn't fuck her-"

"I don't know who tried to force you, but it sounds and looks to me that you weren't forced to have your way with this small child," Alejandro snarled looking at the man in the cell, "Listen and look at your fucking self!"

 _"Fucking slut! Take it all the way in you! Yeah, bitch, yeah! I bet having all those men in you loosened you up for me-"_

Alejandro and Lester turned their heads as they heard Heidi's pained voice whimper, _"It hurts…"_

 _"Shut up, bitch! Shut the fuck up, or I'll break another rib!"_

"You…." Lester said, giving Dwight a hard look, "Life in prison, man, we'll see to it you get into general population, once they find out what you did to that child, they are going to kill you, rape you and kill you."

Something in Dwight snapped and then he snarled, glaring at the two men in front of him, "Yeah, so what, I fucked that bitch, but by the second round, she was begging for it, four years old and begging to be fucked! She was asking for it! So I gave it to her! She was nothing but a slut! You're so fucking lucky you found her when you did, she was slated to be shipped off to Somalia, someone paid top dollar for the little slut!"

"Kill him," A voice said, through the intercom that was set up in the walls of the holding cells, "Don't even waste the time bringing him in, make it look like an accident."

Alejandro turned to Lester and said, with a smirk, "Accidents, hmm, isn't that your specialty?"

"Why yes," Lester hummed, looking at Dwight, "Yes it is…I think we should do a gunshot wound to the head…."

Lester smiled and pulled out a 9mm gun from the waist band of his pants. Alejandro walked out the room, saying, "Don't worry, cleanup crew is on standby…"

"Excellent…." Lester said, aiming his gun, "Funny angle, accidental death."

TBC….

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If i don't get sucked into the smut again, I'll post an update soon! Please leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6, enjoy!

Warning: None at the moment...

Disclaimer in chapter 1

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 6_

 _Penny and I_

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"Uh, this isn't a plant, Brittany," Stephanie said, looking down at the large fish tank, "This isn't even a goldfish, Brittany, what were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that plants, although good for producing oxygen, suck eggs," Brittany said, looking inside of the tank, "I was thinking you needed something better, like a mammal, so I got you this!"

"It's a rat," Stephanie said, looking into the tank, "You got me a rat."

"Not a rat, a hamster," Brittany said, proudly, puffing her chest out and smiling at Stephanie, "And he has such a manly name too! Rex."

"Rex…" Stephanie trailed off, looking inside the fish tank, "Right…."

Rex was a light brown hamster with a white dot on his back, he was small and chubby and spent most of his time in a soup can, with his butt sticking out at the world. Brittany gave Rex an endearing smile and said, "He's adorable! And the children are going to love him."

Stephanie sighed as Rex turned in his soup can and looked up at the two women, with big brown eyes. She felt her heart melt a little and then she said, "Alright…he can stay, geez, he is kind of cute."

Brittany smiled proudly and said, "I know! That's why I got him! Now, tell me about the getting to know you meeting you had with the children!"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and said, "It was interesting, I can't really tell you much, but, I have three students, one is seven and the other two are 5. They're wards of the state, actually, picked by Dr. Ivan to join the school. They'll be living on campus, in the medical dormitories."

"Ah," Brittany said, looking down at the hamster and then picking up the small hamster, "That's…sad, maybe you can help them, Stephanie, I can't believe you start school tomorrow!

"Don't remind me!" Stephanie groaned, rubbing her face, feeling her fear prickle against her neck, "Ugh! I did my lesson plans, but, I'm so scared, I'm scared that I won't be a good enough teacher, oh god, why did I accept this job?!"

"Hey," Brittany said, sliding to her knees and placing a hand on Stephanie's knee, "Don't talk like that, do you know who would be so damn proud of you right now?"

"He would," Stephanie said, looking over to Brittany, and earning a bright smile.

"That's right, my big brother would be so freaking happy with you," Brittany said, standing up, "He was proud of everything that you did, Bernard…he was a good brother, he was a good husband, he was such a good man."

"Brittany?" Stephanie asked, getting up and going over to the young woman, "Brittany, are you okay?"

"It's times like these," Brittany sobbed, wiping her eyes, "Is when I miss my brother so much! I hate getting gushy and emotional."

"Oh, you silly, silly woman," Stephanie said, hugging Brittany to her, "You and Bernard, such emotional fools."

"I know!" Brittany wailed in Stephanie's chest, "I-I-oh! It's my phone!"

Brittany ran over to her cell phone and answered it with a quick, "Hello? Oh, Mr. Branch, no, I don't work today, oh, important client, wants to meet me? Yes sir, I'll be in soon."

Brittany hung up the phone and said, "I gotta go to work, see you tonight, make dinner?"

"I don't know," Stephanie hummed, earning a huff from Brittany, "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Brittany said, running out the classroom, "See ya!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and then turned as her phone went off. Stephanie grabbed it and answered it quickly.

"Stephanie, it's Ivan, I need to have a meeting with you, in about 30 minutes, I'm back from the case and we need to have a serious talk; you have another pupil joining your class. The parent and child will be joining us in the meeting."

"Okay," Stephanie said, sitting down in her seat, "Should I come to you, or go to the main area of the school?"

"No, no, we'll be at your classroom soon," Ivan said, chuckling softly, "I hope you've settled in good, see you soon."

Stephanie hung up the phone and then crossed her arms, looking out the window. She then turned to Rex and said, "Well, Rex, you get to meet your first student, hope you're ready!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I like it here," A small voice said, making Carlos look up from what he was doing, "I wanna stay here forever."

"I don't know about forever," Carlos said, as he finished unpacking the rest of Heidi's clothes, "Mija, maybe there's a time in which you want to go out and see the world."

"No, I don't want to, I only want to stay with you, Daddy!"

Carlos closed his eyes and then resumed placing Heidi's clothes away. He turned to look at the child sitting at her small table, playing with her dolls. Today, Heidi was not in Heidi's body. Today, Penny was keeping Carlos company. Penny was the child in Heidi, the child that Heidi lost during her eight months in hell. She was bubbly, happy and full of life. She loved to hug everyone and she was trusting over everyone.

Too trusting of everyone, Carlos was afraid to take her out in public. Ivan had suggested they take Heidi out to the children's museum, on a slow day, and Penny made herself known. She had run off and almost went off with a strange person. After that incident, Carlos would not allow Heidi out of the house.

"Daddy, Auntie Frankie and Dr. Ivan, all live with me!" Penny said, as she picked up a doll, "And my dolls!"

Carlos had thought that the move from Miami to Trenton would be rough on Heidi. The move was actually easy on the child, since Penny had complete control over Heidi's body, and Penny was always happy. He asked Heidi's nurse, Frankie to move with them, and the nurse accepted the job and move offer. Dr. Ivan wasn't living with them, but he was a regular visitor at the Manoso household, coming every day for Heidi and four times a week for Carlos.

"Dr. Ivan doesn't live with us, Mija," Carlos said, walking over to Heidi and pulling off her dirty dress, "He lives 5 minutes away though, so, you're never too far away from Dr. Ivan."

"Dr. Ivan said I get to go to school soon!" Penny said, looking up at her father, a smile on her face, "Daddy…"

Carlos placed another dress on Heidi's frame and watched as his child deflated, "Penny?"

"Not Penny," The girl said, in a low voice, "I don't want to go to school, Penny is dumb…people can hurt us."

The girl turned and glared up at Carlos, "You can hurt us…you bastard!"

Carlos quickly backed away from Heidi who hissed and jumped up from the table, growling. Gone was the sweet faced little girl and in her placed was an angry girl. This was a personality he had yet to meet. This one was hurt and angry.

"Stay away from us!" The girl shrieked, reaching out and grabbing one of the dolls, "I hate you all, you can hurt us, stay away from us, or I'll kill you!"

"You need to calm down, Mija," Carlos said softly, holding his hands up and moving away from Heidi, "Mija, it's Papi, I won't ever hurt you…"

"LIAR!" The girl screamed, advancing on Carlos, "Lies, that's all you know, fucking lies, you fucking bastard! I hate you!"

"Dios!" Carlos had to grab Heidi as she began to hit him with the doll, "Mija! Mija! You need to calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, promise you!"

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" The girl screamed, struggling in Carlos's arms, "LET ME GO, NO! I DON'T WANT IT! LET ME GO! HELP ME, MOMMY! DADDY! STOP THE BAD MEN! STOP THEM!"

"My goodness," Frankie's voice said over the screaming, "hang on, I have a sedative on the ready."

The girl in Carlos's arm screamed loudly s Frankie injected her in the thigh with a mld sedative. She struggled for a while, before slowing down, sobbing and then falling asleep, in Carlos's arms."

"What in the hell was that, Mr. Manoso?!" Frankie asked, looking down at Heidi's frame, "What happened?!"

"A new personality, I have no idea," Carlos said softly, looking at the nurse, "Maybe two…I feel as though there were two personalities fighting for control."

Frankie shook her head and said, "The poor child, I'll call Ivan…"

Carlos slid down the wall and gently rocked Heidi in his arms. He kissed her forehead saying, "Mija, I'm going to fix, you, if you can't fix yourself, I'll fix you…"

The negative feelings that Carlos had felt since finding his child had dimmed in the back of his head. No longer a heavy shadow on his shoulders, it was now just a mere nagging that he could easily ignore. The anti-depressants helped him focus on helping Heidi with her illness. This wasn't an illness that could go away with pills or medicines, Heidi would need intense sessions with Ivan and maybe other methods.

 _"If she gets worse," Ivan had told him, before they moved from Miami to Princeton, "We might have to commit her."_

Carlos closed his eye and inhaled Heidi's scent. That hurt him more than he could ever voice it. He couldn't let his child go into a mental institution. God, that would…if she got committed, then they might as well commit him as well.

"Hey, Frankie called me," Ivan said, front the doorway of Heidi's room, "Two new personalities?'

"Yes, one was very dangerous, she came out swinging, and then, when I grabbed Heidi, she freaked out, screaming about not wanting it, dios, what did those monsters do to her…."

"Not good," Ivan muttered softly, looking down at Heidi, "Not good at all, do you want to cancel the meeting, maybe push back her going to school for a month or two?"

"No, she is so far behind in her education, she's forgotten her alphabets, numbers, god, we were working so well with her, this is going to set us back so far," Carlos said, looking down at Heidi, "I want her to feel normal, I need for her to feel normal."

"It will help her," Ivan said softly, sitting down beside the man and child, "I'll call her teacher, we'll set up a meeting this afternoon."

"Good," Carlos said, running his fingers through Heidi's wild black hair, "I just want Heidi to find happiness again."

"I know you do," Ivan said, standing up, "But, you should find some happiness as well, don't forget about yourself."

"I'll be fine," Carlos muttered, getting up, with Heidi in his arms, "I'll just worry about Heidi, before anything happens to me."

Carlos placed Heidi's sleeping form on the bed, slipped her shoes on her small feet and then picked her up, turning to Ivan, "Well, let's go, I want her back in bed soon, she had a rough moment."

"Yeah," Ivan said, calling Heidi's new teacher, "Alright let's go."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Dr. Ivan, it's good to see you again, it's been a good month," Stephanie said, as the doctor came into the classroom, looking around, "Oh, I did add some more things to the room, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, it look great," Ivan said, before he turned and motioned for someone to enter the classroom, "Ms. Ronald, I'd like for you to meet your new pupil and her father."

Stephanie watched as a man of Latin American descent walked into her class room. He was dashingly handsome, with mocha latte skin, warm chocolate brown eyes, and a built body. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a buttoned up shirt, with a pair of black loafers. The man had a child in his arms, a little girl, who was waking up slowly, her arms wrapped around his neck. She was dressed in a sunshine yellow dress and white slip on sandals.

"Hello," Stephanie said, with a smile, looking at the man, "My name is Stephanie Ronald, I'm the new kindergarten teacher."

"Ms. Ronald," The man said, sticking a hand out so that Stephanie could shake it, "Carlos Manoso, nice to meet you, and the little one in my arms is my daughter; Heidi."

"Not Heidi," The girl said sleepily, blinking her eyes, "Penny, Daddy…"

"I'm sorry, this is Penny," Carlos said, as Penny turned to look at Stephanie, "Say hello, Penny."

"Hello," Penny said softly, giving Stephanie a shy smile, "Nice to meet you…"

"Hello, Penny, say, would you like a snack? You can snack and color, while Daddy, Dr. Ivan and I talk," Stephanie asked the child, earning a head nod from Penny."

"I like coloring," Penny said, with shy smile, getting down from her father's arms and holding out her hand for Stephanie, "Pink is my favorite color…"

"Is it?!" Stephanie gasped, grabbing Penny's hand and leading her over to the arts and craft table, "I like purple, but I do have lots of pinks for you to color with, some even have glitter in them."

Stephanie settled the girl down at the table, with a juice box and a handful of animal crackers, before the adults sat around the teacher's desk to talk. Ivan smiled and said, "I see Penny likes you already, good, but, I must tell you, the child is very sick."

Stephanie felt horror creep up her throat as both Ivan and Carlos told her what had happened to Heidi. The poor child, how could she have survived something like that?!

"I thought it best that Heidi pursue her education here, in a safe environment, with a full medical staff on call," Ivan said, turning to where Heidi sat, coloring, "Now, you've been trained to handle a lot of things, but a child with different personalities was not on the docket. Do not worry, if a problem occurs, call me, I will be here quickly. I've experiences with this illness."

Stephanie nodded her head and then turned to Carlos asking, "How are you feeling, Mr. Manoso, I can't imagine how you feel, my goodness, that poor child."

"Getting by," Carlos said, taking a out a folder and passing it to Stephanie, "Don't worry about me, Ms. Ronald, just take excellent care of my child, when she's at school. Here is a list of her allergies and the likes."

"Thank you," Stephanie said, opening the folder and looking down at the contents, "I will take great care of Heidi, while she's at school. I have a child of my own, you know, she's 24, but, I consider her my child."

"You never told me that!" Ivan said, rounding on Stephanie, "Tell me, who's your child?"

"Brittany Ronald, my sister in law, she's been living with-" Stephanie started but Ivan cut her off with a low, "Interesting….very interesting…."

Ivan got up from his seat and then walked away from the desk. Carlos gave Stephanie a look and said, "He does that from time to time…"

Stephanie chuckled and said, "Now, we can take a look at my lesson plans, Dr. Ivan told me that Heidi would be behind the class, but I can still give her one on one time, if need be, come here, let's take a look…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Brittany, I had a wonderful afternoon, I met my new pupil and she's so sweet, a little ill but very sweet and her father is handsome as well!" Stephanie shouted, entering the house, "Brittany, I also got something to make dinner tonight, I hope you like pasta!"

Stephanie paused, looking inside the dark hallway. Brittany was usually the first to thunder down the stairs, at the prospect of food, where in the hell was she?!

Stephanie placed the grocery bags on the floor and then made her way upstairs, hearing the sounds of the shower running. Stephanie walked into Brittany's room, which was dark. Stephanie made her way over to the bathroom, hearing the shower on and opened the door and turning on the lights. Stephanie let out a shriek seeing Brittany, curled up in a ball, on the floor of the shower stall, banging her head on the wall, rocking back and forth, her eyes wide open and her trembling blue lips mouthing something.

"Brittany!" Stephanie said, running over to the shower stall and turning off the icy cold water, "Jesus, you're ice cold, come on!"

Stephanie grabbed a towel and wrapped the woman up in it. She dried her off quickly and then had her in the bed, with an electric blanket and a hot water bottle tucked under her back. Stephanie slipped her shoes off and her wet clothes before slipping in the bed with Brittany. She kissed the woman's trembling frame and whispered, "Brittany, what happened, tell me, please, sweetie."

Stephanie felt Brittany's body fill up with air and she began to sob loudly, turning and curling into Stephanie's frame. She gripped the woman tightly and whimpered, "Don't let go of me, Mommy, stay here with me…"

"Oh, you poor thing," Stephanie said, hugging Brittany to her and rocking her slightly, "What happened to you, what happened?"

TBC….

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Please leave a review! See you later!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7, enjoy!

warning: Rape, mentions of race issues and anything else...

This chapter is pretty rough, but it's an necessary evil. Ivan and Brittany are explained, in more detail here.

Disclaimer in chapter !

* * *

 _Teddy Bears and Tears_

 _Chapter 7_

 _Promises_

* * *

"I took a sabbatical from law school," Brittany said, looking down at her cup of tea, her voice rough from crying, "I quit the law firm, and uh…I want to take time for me."

Stephanie sat down beside Brittany and said, "Brittany, sweetie, tell me what's going on, please, tell me."

"I know Mom and Dad are going to flip bricks," Brittany said, getting up from the couch and looking out the window, "They're going to want me to move home, to coddle me and-"

"Brittany, for heaven's sake, I came home to a dark house and found you taking an ice cold shower, it looked as though you had been in there for hours," Stephanie said, going over to Brittany, "Please, Brittany, tell me what's going on!"

Brittany shrank back from Stephanie, holding her hands up. She closed her eyes and said, "Stephanie, I don't want to talk about it, okay? Can you please drop it, I don't want to think about, I don't want to…"

"Okay," Stephanie said, looking over to Brittany, watching the woman close her eyes and try not to cry again, "Okay, sweetie, we don't have to talk about it, we can eat and go to bed, and tomorrow, you can go with me to work, be my helper."

Brittany nodded her head and rang her hands together, looking out the window again, "Okay, it should be fun, right?"

"Yeah," Stephanie said, smiling at Brittany, "But you'll have to get up early to head in with me, okay?"

"I can handle that," Brittany said, tightly, her hand to her throat, her eyes never leaving the window, Stephanie could see that she was rocking slightly now and her hands going to cover her ears.

"Okay, come on, let's go to bed," Stephanie said, placing a firm but gentle hand on Brittany's shoulder, "I'll sleep with you, it'll be like one big sleepover, okay?"

"Okay," Brittany said, letting Stephanie lead her up the stairs, "I like sleepovers…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Everyone gets first time jitters," Ivan said, looking down at the child in front of him, "Now, behave, alright, I love you."

"Love you too," The small boy said, before hugging Ivan, "By Uncle Ivan!"

"I'll be here at one to get you, okay, Thaddeus," Ivan said, leading the child into the kindergarten classroom, "We'll go to your session and then we'll go get some ice cream."

"Sprinkles!" Thaddeus said jumping around the man, "Sprinkles!"

"He's all yours, Ms. Ronald," Ivan said, leading the boy into the classroom, "Have a good day mad-"

Ivan stopped and let go of Thaddeus's hand, looking at the person that was laying out place mats on the small table. He crossed his arms and then walked over to the person and said, "Brittany, shouldn't you be in school?"

Brittany looked up from what she was doing and said, in a soft voice, " I- I took a leave of absence from law school, Dr. Ivan."

Ivan took in the woman's appearance and said, "Are you free right now?"

Brittany rang her hands together and then nodded her head saying, "I have a few minutes, before Stephanie needs me."

"Oh, you're her helper?" Ivan asked, earning a nod, "Well, that's good, I'll be sure to put you on the payroll then, I don't like free labor."

"You don't need to do that," Brittany said, as Ivan led her out the classroom, "it's only a couple of hours a day."

Ivan closed the classroom door and then said, "Nonsense! Come on, let's go to my office and talk."

Ivan led Brittany downstairs and into his office, which was covered with toys and drawings from his patients. Ivan sat down in a seat and said, " Let's talk, Brittany, it's been a while since we've had a conversation. Do you want to color, Brittany, I have some crayons or colored-"

"I don't want to color!" Brittany said, sitting down, and looking out the window and hugging herself, "I just…I just want to forget."

Ivan nodded his head and said, "I know, you want to forget, Brittany, I know you want to wish that it would just leave your mind, and so you never have to remember it."

Brittany covered her eyes and sobbed softly, "I don't want to remember, I just want a new brain! Why won't it go away!"

Ivan leaned forward and said, "Because, Brittany, it's a part of you, sadly, you just have to learn to live with it."

"I can't!" Brittany screamed, sitting up, "I can't! Make it stop! You're a fucking mind doctor, please! Stop it!"

Ivan grabbed Brittany and said, in a low voice, "Brittany, you need to calm down! You're going to go into hysterics and I will have to have you sedated!"

"One of them came! One of those…bastards came to my job!" Brittany screamed, all the fight leaving from her body, "They came to my job, oh god! They came…"

Ivan gently sat Brittany on the couch and said, "One of them….?"

"One of the ones…who…raped me, when I was a child," Brittany sobbed, covering her face with her hands, "Dr. Ivan, I'm so scared!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Brittany," Walter Branch, Senior lawyer of the Branch and Watson Law firm said, walking up to the woman, "I'm glad you could come at such short notice, I have a new client, and when he heard about my star law student, he had to meet you, to put you on his team."

Brittany smiled and said, "Oh, okay, I'm sorry that I'm not dressed properly," looking down at her summer dress, "I was out and about, when you called me."

Walter waved Brittany off and said, "Don't worry about it, dear, now, he's in the VIP room, high profile client, he's worth a lot of money."

Brittany rolled her eyes and followed Walter down the hallway and over to the ornate double doors. Branch and Watson was a multi-billion dollar law firm that had clients all over the world. Brittany had been over the moon when they had chosen her to join on law firm as a student lawyer. This firm was her key to success and even though she got great grades, being in a world wide famous law firm would help her even more.

Walter opened the door and then said, "Aw yes, here we are, Brittany, meet the client that wanted you so much, Mr. Porter."

Brittany smiled at Walter and then turned to where the client sat and in that moment, her world fell apart.

 _She wasn't in an opulent law office, she was back, in that windowless room, on that mattress stained with fluids. She was young, she didn't know how old she had been, she was young, dirty, hungry and in pain, with a metal collar around her neck and a heavy chain attached to it that was mounted to the wall._

 _When the door to her room opened, she knew that people would walk in, and that these people would hurt her, badly. Brittany closed her eyes as bright lights made their way into her dark room. She looked up as a man walked into the room, a look of disgust on his face and a sneer to finish it. He took one look at Brittany and asked, "How old is she?"_

 _"5, she's been with us since she was maybe…3 or 4?" Another person said, making Brittany close her eyes, "She doesn't make much noise, takes it without screaming."_

 _"Everyone always wants little white kids to blow their loads in," The rich man said, looking at Brittany's shivering form, "Why go after those who will end up on the 6PM news, when you have plenty of merchandise that won't be looked at twice, get her cleaned up, I paid for two hours, and I'm getting my money's worth. Get her out of here, I'm not fucking her in this squalor."_

 _"Yes, Mister Porter," A person said, grabbing Brittany by her arm and yanking at the girl, "Move it, cattle!"_

 _Brittany let out a pained whimper as she was forced up and dragged out the room for two hours of pure hell._

"Brittany, this is Mr. Porter, Mr. Porter, this is Brittany, the one you wanted," Walter said, motioning for Brittany to sit down, "Now, shall we discuss business."

Brittany sat down, her mind shutting down and her body going on auto. She shook the hand that had hurt her so long ago, listen to her boss and his client talk about long term business and she heard them come to an agreement.

"Oh, Mr. Branch, please, let me talk to this lovely student," Mr. Porter asked, looking long at Brittany's body, "I wish to get to know her better, and alone."

Brittany felt Mr. Branch squeeze her shoulder and then leaned into her, whispering, "He's a very important client, do not screw this up, Miss. Ronald."

Brittany nodded her head and felt the last of her protection leave, closing the door behind them, with an ominous click. Brittany closed her eyes and gripped the arm rest of the chair as Mr. Porter got up and walked over to her. Brittany let out a sound, as strong fingers grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at the man in front of her. Dark green eyes gazed deeply into her terrified brown eyes and then Mr. Porter said, in a low voice, "Brittany, that's the name you're going by now…you were always my favorite, he always made sure that you were ready for me, those lowly grunts made sure to clean every inch of your body and then he would lead us into my favorite room, the play room."

Brittany's eyes faded away and her mind began to shut down. She felt a strong hand in hair, threading through her tight curls, "So pretty," Mr. Porter said, leaning down and kissing Brittany's cheek, "Mr. Walter told me that you follow all the orders given to you, now, I pay your salary now, sweetie, I own you, I've missed those lips around me, now get on your knees."

"Not here," Brittany whimpered, as the hand in her hair became firm, "Please, sir, not here…"

"Good, you remember what to call me," Mr. Porter said, forcing Brittany to her knees, "Mr. Walter made sure that I have easy access to you, as my assistant. Now, let's get started, pleasure me."

Brittany let out a sob as Mr. Porter pulled his slacks down, "No, please…please, Sir."

It took only 10 minutes for Mr. Porter spilled his seed in Brittany's mouth. She fell to the ground, her eyes wide and unseeing. Mr. Porter "You feel good, as always, you're a little bigger now, so it fits all the way n your mouth, used to be a struggle with you. Now, on the table, I'm going to fuck you."

Brittany climbed on the table, tears dropping on her nose. She grunted as her legs were spread and then her dress was lifted and her panties ripped off her. Mr. Porter pulled Heidi flushed against him. Brittany closed her eyes and then let herself slip away as Mr. Porter entered her roughly.

Afterwards, Mr. Porter dropped a silk cloth on Brittany and said, "Clean up, girl, I don't want you shaming the law firm and me, that would be bad for you."

Brittany sat up and did what she was told to do, her eyes vacant and her frame shaking. Brittany felt Mr. Porter lift her chin up and kiss her deeply, his tongue sweeping through her slack mouth and his lips rough, demanding. Mr. Porter let go of her chin and growled, "Kiss me, Brittany! Or else, do you need a visit to the playroom, again?! I can take you from here, and no one would know, no one would care. My lawyer, Mr. Branch, he would see to it that your body would wind up in the landfill, only it won't be you, but some nameless nobody, you, you would be in my playroom, never to see the light of day ever again."

Brittany shook slowly and then leaned forward, pursing her lips together. Mr. Porter chuckled darkly and demanded, "I want you to ask me to kiss you, do it!"

Brittany shook harder and then said, in a soft voice, "Please, kiss me, Mr. Porter…"

"Good girl," Mr. Porter said, before kissing Brittany, "Use your tongue, sweetie, I want you to enjoy yourself."

She closed her eyes and kissed Mr. Porter deeply. Her tongue swept out and toyed with Mr. Porter's and her lips pressed tightly against the man's lips. The growled his approval and pressed Brittany up against him. They stayed locked like that for a long moment, before Mr. Porter let go of Brittany and kissed her forehead.

"At the end of month," Mr. Porter whispered in Brittany's ear, "I will…own you, body and soul, with no pimp in the way, that's the beauty of you being black, Brittany, no one looks for a minority woman. This job, this cushy job that landed in your lap, it was all my doing, I've been keeping tabs on you, Brittany, because, 12 years ago, I paid for you, but you slipped from my fingers, now you're here again, and I won't let you go, ever."

Mr. Porter watched, with sick glee as Brittany sat back on the table and wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth. He kissed her head and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, sweetie, bright and early, we have lots of things to go over."

Mr. Porter gave Brittany another kiss and then left the conference room, leaving Brittany to her devices.

Brittany walked out the conference room, her frame shaking slightly. She walked down the hallway of the firm and into Mr. Branch's office saying, "Mr. Porter left, sir…"

"Good, good, see to it that he's satisfied in every way," Mr. Branch said, turning to Brittany, "Anything he wants, he gets."

Brittany didn't need to be told what that meant, Mr. Branch gave Brittany to Mr. Porter, a man from her past, to have sex with her. The façade she had up for so long was beginning to crack around the edges. She nodded her head and then said, in a soft voice, "I quit…"

"What was that?" Mr. Branch asked, looking over to Brittany again, "You quit?"

"I quit," Brittany said, in a louder voice, though it shook, "I'm not working here anymore."

"You quit…." Mr. Branch said, walking around his desk and over to Brittany, who took a step back, fear in her eyes, "That's hilarious, Brittany, you, quitting this firm."

Mr. Branch closed the door to his office and then rounded on Brittany saying, "Mr. Porter is very important to us, sweetie, you're not going to quit on me! You walk out that door, you can forget about finding a job in law, you'll have to settle with sucking dicks. And Princeton?! I'll see to it that you're expelled from that school, for throwing yourself on a client! You'll never be able to get into a school in this country, I'll blacklist you for the rest of your life!"

"Please, you don't understand, Mr. Branch," Brittany sobbed, looking at the man, "I can't work with that man, please!"

"Suck it up, princess, because in life, there are things that you have to do that you don't want to do!" Mr. Branch said, wrenching the door open, "Now, smile, and when Mr. Porter comes back into this office, you're going to please him, in any way. You're going to get on your knees, smile up at him and then fuck him. You and only you, he asked for only you."

The panic attack that Brittany had tried to keep control broke loose. She felt bile rise in her throat and then she shook her head and ran out the office, running out the office to throw up outside on the side of the building. Brittany sobbed loudly, falling to her knees. She couldn't go through it, she couldn't live that life again.

Brittany pulled out her car keys and left the parking lot of the law office. She didn't care if her life was over, she would rather be a hermit than be a sex slave to that man again.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"My life is ruined," Brittany sobbed, curling up in a ball, "I….I took a leave of absence from school, because I knew that once I left that building, they would…tell the Dean that I seduced him, I would never be able to go back to school."

"No, Brittany, it's not ruined," Ivan said, going over to her and pulling her into his lap, "No, it's not, you were very brave with what you did, you were so brave, you've survived so much, I'll see to it that your life is not over, I promise you, Brittany."

Ivan rocked Brittany slowly, as the woman cried in his chest. He closed his eyes and said, "I promised you, little one, that I would protect you, it's okay, little one, I will protect you."

"No one can help me," Brittany sobbed, gripping Ivan's shirt, "No one can save me…"

Ivan, to calm the girl down, hummed softly in her ear, a Russian lullaby that soothed his nephew when he was having an episode. It did the trick, because minutes later, Brittany was falling asleep, her grip on Ivan's shirt slack. Ivan gently laid Brittany on the couch and then covered her up, once she was fast asleep. He called Stephanie and told her that Brittany was preoccupied as was he. Ivan unbuttoned his jacket and the picked his phone up, making a call.

"Yes," Ivan said, walking around his office, "Remember that favor you owe me, well, I'm calling it in. Branch and Watson Law firm; destroy them, I don't care what you have to do, but make them burn to the ground, ruin these people, I'm sure a giant worldwide firm like that has several hundred skeletons hiding in the closet, in fact, I'll give you one…A young law student forced into sexual servitude by the senior lawyer, get the camera feeds and they will show you. Walter Branch isn't a fool, he'll have kept video documentary of this, as blackmail material, against the law student."

Ivan hung his phone up and then turned to Brittany's prone form. Ivan looked down at Brittany and said, "I told you, 11 years ago, that I would watch over you, I keep my promises, child."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Ms. Ronald!" 5 year old Thaddeus shouted, running over to the woman, "Ms. Ronald, Ms. Ronald! Leslie pinched my arm!"

"Leslie, you know it's not nice to hurt other people," Stephanie said sternly, rubbing Thaddeus's arm, "Now come here and apologize, please"

"No!" Leslie shouted, crossing her arms and glaring at the little boy, who glared back, " I hate him! I hate them all!"

Stephanie gently rubbed Thaddeus's arm and said, "Go play with Henry, but remember…"

"No loud noises!" Thaddeus nodded his head and then ran over to a small child who was coloring in silence.

Stephanie walked over to the little girl that sat on a chair, crossing her arms and glaring at Stephanie, "Leslie, do we need to go to time out?"

"I don't care, I've had worse!" Leslie said, glaring at Stephanie, "This place is stupid, it's for babies, I'm not a baby!"

Leslie was Stephanie's oldest student and a handful. She was the seven year old who spent the first four years of her life in a woodshed, and then another two years being abused by a foster parent. She had been in the state mental hospital for the psychotic episodes she would occasionally have a full year, before Ivan took her to the school and moved her into the dormitories. Leslie seldom had good days and when her bad days were bad, they were really bad.

"Come on," Stephanie said, grabbing Leslie hand and leading her over to the arts and craft table, "I know coloring is a baby thing, but if you color and not hurt your classmates, we can go outside, you and me, okay?"

Leslie looked over to Stephanie, stuck her tongue out but grab some crayons to color. Stephanie smiled and then turned as the door opened and Carlos came into the classroom, holding a crying Heidi.

"Bad morning," Carlos said, as his child clung to him, "I don't think we're ready for school."

Stephanie walked over to the duo and said, in a soft voice, "Stay here, Carlos, for the day, if you can…if you're concerned."

Carlos nodded his head and said, "Alright, I will, Ms. Ronald, just don't get me to color with a glitter crayon."

"Don't count me out!" Stephanie said, leading Carlos over to the other three children, "Here I'll introduce you to the children."

TBC….

* * *

Ivan's past is much more complicated then people think and yes, Brittany is tied to it. Next chapter is for Carlos and Stephanie! Please leave a review, please?


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